As we discussed in part one of How to Make a Living Teaching Martial Arts, there are many things you need to master in order to make a living teaching martial arts.
Here are eight more essentials before you can really make a sustainable living teaching the martial arts.
- Create value.
Do you want more for your money? So do your students. Make your classes so informative and exciting people don’t hesitate to upgrade or help sign up their friends. When people get more for their money, it creates a great opportunity for referrals. - Be authentic.
Were your favorite teachers in school the dull and boring ones? I didn’t think so. People like being around charismatic people. They also don’t like phonies. Be yourself and become a person people like to be around. - Master the schedule.
If you’re going to make living, you need to learn how to schedule for success. This alone can make or break your martial arts school. Is your schedule too limited? Too many options? How can you make it more appealing and more profitable? - Have a decent location.
Notice I didn’t say the greatest location, because you don’t need this to make a good living. Having a great location doesn’t mean instant success any more than buying a BMW will make you rich. Even martial arts schools with great locations go out of business. I would rather pay a little less, get a decent location, then build to the next level once I have the clientèle to make the leap. - Make things remarkable.
Want more referrals than you know what to do with? Make your classes remarkable. Make your school worth talking about. Make things so fun people want to come in and check it out. Having this kind of reputation attracts students like a magnet. - Create multiple streams of revenue.
Do you offer upsell options? Sell equipment? Apparel? Private lessons? Weekend seminars or workshops? If you answered no to any of these, you are leaving money on the table. Get creative and develop more ways to get more money from your martial arts school. - Become a good manager.
If you don’t hire this out, you’ll have to master this as well. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of just being a good instructor. You also have to be a great manager of your business and time. You’ll have to be good at delegating, following up, training, and holding people accountable. - Be an entrepreneur.
Work to be on top of your business instead of underneath it. You have to always be thinking ahead and having the mindset that propels your business forward year after year. Find people to manage. It’s not enough to be a good martial artist, instructor, or manager. You have to be the catalyst for innovation and profitability.
Agree or disagree? Let me know in the form of a comment below!
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I'm Ryan Wheaton and I work with martial arts school owners to help them attract more students. Many martial arts school owners are confused at how to best market their business and feel awkward in selling situations. I help them overcome those challenges to become confident and competent in marketing and selling their services - helping them become more profitable so they can live the lifestyle they want to live. 
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This is what I am working towards! Right now I subcontract one instructor. I cannot wait until I can hire someone to do office work as well, freeing me up more to create and drive the school.
Another good post.
And another question: What do you mean by upsell? What extras do you offer that the rest of the students aren’t getting?
An example of an upsell is having three programs to choose from whenever someone signs up. Sears is famous for having the three tier model where there is a 1) good 2) better 3) best option to choose from. Prices go up as the amount of classes one wants to attend goes up. Hope that helps clarify things!